Keep The Peace 2015 Comes to NOLA

As part of our national Keep the Peace initiative this summer, RushCard was in New Orleans this past weekend with The Peacekeepers and 2-Cent Summer Session — two organizations that are using new and creative ways to decrease violence and empower members of their community.

The Peacekeepers

The Peacekeepers have been doing incredible work around the U.S. to make communities safe and to change neighborhoods by changing behaviors, specifically through engaging young people to embrace the principles of peace, love and unity.

With the grant from RushCard, The Peacekeepers launched their Peacekeepers Ground Zero for Peace Program at the Saint Roch Community Playground. Their team leapt right into action, and were joined by the NOLA Police Superintendent Michael Harrison as they walked into the designated ground zero neighborhood, talking with young people about ways to create a more peaceful community.

2-Cent Summer Session

Local artist Brandan “Bmike” Odums of 2-Cent Summer Session also participated in the launch. He painted an awesome mural of a young boy who was in attendance, which the crowd then signed as a pledge to keep the peace movement going.

In Bmike’s own words:

My elders instilled a sense of responsibility in me that’s only heightened as an artist, we have to do what we can to make our community better. That’s what I want my art to communicate — that we are the heroes our community needs.

We’re getting ready to do something HUGE with Bmike in August to continue to spread the message of peace, so stay tuned to the blog for more!

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